Aquatic Ecology: Robustness of aquatic ecosystems in the face of global change

Date:
18 March 2018
- 23 March 2018

Location: Hotel de Bosrand, Ede

Aquatic ecosystems play a crucial role in human health and well-being as a source of drinking water and food (irrigation, fisheries, and aquaculture), recreation, and tourism. Aquatic systems also provide diverse habitats, support high levels of biodiversity and vital ecosystems services and play a vital role in the global carbon cycle and in various nutrient cycles. Moreover, lakes integrate and archive information from the entire catchment and thus act as sentinels and bear the legacy of past environmental change. Aquatic ecosystems, however, are under severe anthropogenic pressure such as eutrophication, inorganic pollution, acidification, invasive species, extraction of upstream water, and climate change. Unprecedented rates of global change add a sense of urgency to study the impacts of anthropogenic pressures, and to develop ways to restore and improve the robustness of aquatic ecosystems against these pressures.

In this 5-day course we will provide a multifaceted overview of the science on aquatic ecosystems in the Anthropocene and the means by which its robustness can be restored or even improved. The course will consist of a combination of lectures provided by a team of international expert scientists, followed by plenary discussions. In addition, the participants will be working in small teams on specific group work projects. .